Re: Why C++ is successful

[not_the-spam_xxiii@biogate.com (Dave Martin)]

I certainly wasn't trying to attack ada and I hope it didn't come off
that way.  I was just relating the experiences that I had.  Its true
that many people use Ada and are quite happy to do so; and Ada-95 has
added a lot to the language in an O-O context.

We are surrounded by many DOD installations around here, and Ada usage
was mandated by the DOD until recently.  Many of the people I know
were upset because they were told "you will use Ada" and many
obviously biased studies were bandied about (the kind where it was
obvious that the people conducting the study were told what result to
come up with before they started the study).  I'm sure you can find
many such "studies" on just about any topic.

I personally haven't learned Ada (83/95) yet, so I hesitate to say
anything one way or the other about it, though I will admit to being
influenced by my friends occasionally on the subject.  I know many
people who hate Ada, and I know there are many others who swear by it.

I'm not sure I'll ever get around to learning Ada; Eiffel is my
current "education" project.  I just hope that people using whatever
language for some project are using them from an informed position and
choice; and not for "religious" reasons.  I know someone who refused
to move from C to C++ because of all that ickyness C++ added to C.
sigh.  I once got him to (reluctantly) admit that prototypes were a
good thing, but thats about as far as he'll go.  He also generally
hates what ANSI/ISO did to C.

Personally, for the last several years i've been trying to detect my
own hidden assumptions and biases, and nullify them.  I never want to
turn into the old dog who can't learn new tricks or becomes closed-
minded to something simply because its different.  Unfortunately I
haven't always been successful, but i'm trying.

On Tue, 28 Jul 1998 18:56:44 -0700, Rakesh Malhotra
<rakesh.malhotra@safetran.com> wrote:

[stuff about Ada's image and its good points deleted, see previous
posting]

<*> - Know Future